Team Canada Won't Send Athletes to 2020 Tokyo Olympics Due to COVID-19
Mar 22, 2020
Canada's Andre De Grasse celebrates with the national flag after finishing third in the Men's 100m final at the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships at the Khalifa International stadium in Doha on September 28, 2019. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP) (Photo by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)
Canada is pulling its athletes out of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
On Sunday, the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Committees said they would not send their athletes to Japan this summer and urged the International Olympic and Paralympic Committees to postpone the Games for a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
BREAKING: The Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian Paralympic Committee will refuse to send athletes to the Tokyo Olympics if the event is not postponed.The 2020 Games are currently set to begin on July 24. News release: pic.twitter.com/NT8twsqAXI
"This is not solely about athlete health—it is about public health," the COC and CPC said in their statement. "With COVID-19 and the associated risks, it is not safe for our athletes, and the health and safety of their families and the broader Canadian community for athletes to continue training for these Games. In fact, it runs counter to the public health advice which we urge all Canadians to follow."
Australia is following suit and preparing its athletes instead for the possibility of a 2021 Summer Olympics:
Australia's Olympic Committee executive board on Monday "unanimously agreed that an Australian Team could not be assembled in the changing circumstances at home and abroad." pic.twitter.com/8tV0MmOPAK
On Sunday, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said for the first time that postponing the Games is a possibility if there isn't a way to hold the event in its "complete form," per Reuters (h/t New York Times).
Abe said that canceling the Games altogether is not an option, however.
Additionally, Reuters reported that the International Olympic Committee held an emergency meeting and is "stepping up its 'scenario planning' for the 2020 Games due to start on July 24, including a possible postponement."
IOC President Thomas Bach also indicated that the committee will come to a decision in the next month in a letter addressed to Olympic athletes:
"Together with all the stakeholders, we have started detailed discussions today to complete our assessment of the rapid development of the worldwide health situation and its impact on the Olympic Games, including a scenario of postponement. We are working very hard, and we are confident that we will have finalized these discussions within the next four weeks."
As for Canada's decision to pull out of this summer's Olympics barring a postponement, it could prompt other countries to take similar actions. ESPN's Michele Steele tweeted that such a measure "is not off the table for U.S. athletes, either."
And there is mounting pressure for the IOC and Japan to delay the Games:
In a letter obtained by @CBCNews to IOC President Thomas Bach — World Athletics President Sebastian Coe says the time has come to postpone Tokyo 2020.
“Olympic Games in July this year is neither feasible nor desirable” he said.
USA Swimming respectfully requests that the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee advocate for the postponement of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. pic.twitter.com/q5bhUwi05q
Given the uncertain timeline of the coronavirus pandemic and the limitations measures like social distancing place on athletes and their training, postponement appears to be gaining steam as a viable option. There have been over 244,000 reported cases of the coronavirus and 12,944 deaths, according to CNN.com.
